


soft things

by AquaMom



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Kaldur deserves soft things in his life, Light Sex Scene, M/M, More Comfort, Romance, This is romance, What happens when you start having feels about, generally about him and soft stuff, like damn ya'll I wrote something kind of sweet, no clones only Roy, your favorite character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 23:06:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17969771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaMom/pseuds/AquaMom





	soft things

 

Kaldur liked soft things. 

 

There's not much of that in Atlantis, though. Or any, really.  In the cold mostly dark depths of the ocean, everything is either hard, slimy, or scaled.  There's no such thing as 'soft' there.  There's squishy and rubbery things, but nothing that invoked the word 'soft' to be attached to any of it.  Even his sleep pod isn't soft but more akin to what surface-dwellers call 'water beds' that were in fashion at some point and time.   He knows how those feel.  They gave the illusion of being soft without truly being that. 

No, Kaldur doesn't learn what soft is until he's gone to the surface world and has a hint of it, first, in the form of freshly fallen snow in some northern country that his king had to go to.  It's the first time he's actually seen snow, though, let alone know that it came in such a light weight.  He's never seen it fallen from the sky before and the cold doesn't bother him much either.  

When asked what it was, his king had patiently explained it to him. That 'snow' was frozen water that fell from the sky.  That if taken into the water, it would melt and become part of the ocean. 

Even though he knows this, Kaldur wished he could take it with him. To show others that had never seen snow before. To revel in it's softness before it melted away. 

He learned, also, that when clumped together, snow became hard as well.  It often made him wonder how such tiny soft things could become large, heavy, and hard. 

 

* * *

 

Kaldur learned the word for 'soft' when he meets others around his age. Not wanting to show how ignorant he was to some of their words, he missed it at first. A conversation that Speedy had with Green Arrow about something for Black Canary. 

"I'm sure she'd like it- I mean everyone likes soft things, right Aqualad?"

"I-" At the time, his mind had sputtered to a stop. At least he's not around either Robin or Kid Flash. Working with Speedy had him more confident in his abilities to navigate the surface world culture a bit more, but he's still nervous about getting something wrong.  "I believe so."  

His king spoke to Green Arrow again, drawing the elder's attention to something else.  They could relax, since the battle was over.  He had a feeling that his mentor was trying to give him more time to get acclimated to this world too.  After all, he too was an ambassador for Atlantis.

"Hey, Aqualad?" Speedy had hung back with him, his voice quiet enough as they walked along the docks of Star City, "Are you alright? You kinda seemed embarrassed."

If he could blush hard enough to see, it probably would've highlighted his high cheekbones and gone all the way to the gills of his throat.   "I.. I'm still trying to get used to the surface world."

"Oh yeah?"  Speedy seemed at ease at that point, "Like what?"

He's embarrassed. He should know what these things are. At least, he should feel like it.  He doesn't want to ask his king, it's too trivial of a thing and he certainly doesn't want to ask this of any of the other sidekicks- they'd just laugh at his lack of knowledge.  Speedy's the only one he thinks he could trust to not make fun of him. 

"That word you used before." He tried to ignore the quickening of his pulse, the feeling of shame that wanted to creep up and choke him for not knowing, "About Black Canary."

"Word?" Speedy had squinted- well, Kaldur interpreted as a 'squint'- in thought about it. "Which one?"

It felt a little like torture, Kaldur thought, to have to pin point the word.  "What everyone likes."

"Soft?" At his nod, Speedy turned slightly towards him.  "You mean the word soft, right?"

He nodded again, "I'm not sure I understand it. What does it mean exactly?"

"Soft, um..Uh...Crap, how do I explain this?" Speedy frowned a little, "It's the opposite of hard."

"I understand that, in concept, but what do you mean?"

"You are really not going to make this easy on me, are you?" When he raised a brow at that, Speedy just sighed and scratched his head under the cap, "Ok, do you have anything that's not hard in Atlantis?"

Kaldur had tilted his head, "Not many things are."

"Right, forgot, ocean." Speedy considered something then perked up, "Ok, I got it.  Come back in, like, three days?"

Curious, Kaldur had agreed and left thereafter with his mentor once their time was done. 

He came back to find Speedy, as Roy, with a bag next to him. It's then that he learned that 'soft' could apply to 'things' like what Roy handed to him once he dried himself off enough to touch it. It's a stuffed shark. It's the definition of 'soft' that he's ever held before in his life. Even the snow, delicate cold ice, didn't feel as this had.  

It's what he imagined clouds felt like.

"It's soft, right?" Roy had a lopsided grin on his face. "That's what I meant.  Everyone likes soft things."

Kaldur couldn't agree more. 

Eventually, though, he would leave the stuff shark with Roy. It wouldn't do too well in the water but Roy had told him he could always come to the Queen's mansion whenever he liked to visit.  

"And you can cuddle it there- no judgement." He added. 

 

* * *

 

The next soft thing he experienced happened after a terrible argument with his father. Though he strive to be a good and obedient son to his parents, what his father had asked for was impossible. The argument had escalated to the point where his mother couldn't defuse the situation and he ultimately left his dwelling.  His wanderings took him all the way to where the Queen's mansion was situated near the beach.  One of the few mansions that could have a private beach at that.  When he had surfaced it rained bitterly, pelting him with hard droplets that felt like those 'bullets' he was hit with once. 

Neither was very pleasant. 

However, the water helped him navigate to which room was Roy's- as he remembered it from the last visit he'd had there- and proceeded to use his waterbearers to help him reach the balcony.  Inside, warm and dry, Roy was bent over his workstation, tinkering away at one of the many trick arrows he owned.  Kaldur knocked as gently as he could on the glass door, then shifted his weight from one foot to the next as Roy noticed him. 

He let him in.  He didn't say anything but had him stand there on the mat while he closed the door and got some towels for him to dry off with.   The towels were soft too.  Smelled of something that Kaldur couldn't really identify but it was nice.  Roy's turned his music down and gestured to his dresser on the other side of the large spacious room.  It's bigger than Kaldur's, that's for certain. 

"There's some pjs in there." He said and turned around to his work table. "You can stay the night, if you want. The bed's big enough."

He wanted to ask him why he didn't question him, but kept his mouth shut. Instead, he did as instructed, and went to change in another room- what surface dweller's call a 'bathroom'.   It's white and mint-green in color.  Coordinate with some black and white accents but it's lost on Kaldur how it's all supposed to look or give an impression of how it's relevant to a home.  He changed out of his clothes and into the 'pajamas'.  They're soft too. He liked the way they felt against his legs and the shirt- a bit big on him- feels the same way.  

It also all smells undeniably of Roy, which was a bonus comfort that he didn't know he needed. It felt...safe.  At least, that's how he could describe it.  

Dutifully, he folded his clothes then put them in an unobtrusive corner and set the waterbearer pack on top of it.  He moved carefully enough to not disturb Roy working on his arrows and climbed in the bed. He's more than a little surprised that the stuffed shark is there too but recalled what Roy had said before.  

He cuddled with it, curled on his side, listening to the faint music Roy liked to listen to while he worked. Kaldur let his mind wander over the argument with his father. Over what had happened before then that lead to it.   He buried his face into the softness. He let the softness of the bed- the pillows, the mattress, the duvet- swallow him until only the top of his head could be seen.  

He's not cold.  The cold had never ever bothered any Atlantean that he knows of; and it doesn't bother him in the least.  But the warmth he felt wasn't bothersome either. It was soothing in a way, mixed with the softness that surrounded him, that made him feel better.  Made the knot in his stomach ease and allowed sleep to tempt him. This was safe.  He imagined this is what it's like to sleep in clouds.

Faintly, he heard Roy switch off the music then turned off the light before coming to bed.  The bed's a king size- maybe a bit bigger; not that Kaldur would actually know.  He could feel the bed dip with Roy's weight at the other end. He could almost feel the added heat but knows better to than to touch him, even though their feet brushed once under the covers as Roy got situated.

"Damn, Kal." He swore softly, "Are you always this cold?"

"Unfortunately." It's slightly muffled, but he poked his head out from the covers, "I live near the bottom of the sea. It's always cold there, even though there are vents not far that we exploit during winter."

"Do you guys even have seasons?"

"Migration and weather patterns mostly."

Roy hummed, seemingly having gotten comfortable enough now. The silence stretched between them for a while until he asked, "What happened to make you show up during one of the worst storms in Star City, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kaldur idly let a webbed hand play with the fin of the shark, "I got into an argument with my father."

"You? Fight with someone?"

He can't help but laugh softly in the dark, "Even I have disagreements with my parents, Roy."

"Ok, then." Roy must've turned over.  Kaldur does the same.  Living under water had allowed him to have better than normal eye sight at night. "So, what was it about?"

He hugged the shark a little, not relishing the memory that came to mind, "Black Manta attacked one of cities and I was helping the citizens get away when he confronted me alone.  We fought.." He trailed off for a moment, cringing a little at the unpleasant part of this. "I-I was sorely defeated by him but King Orin came and then fought.  When we returned to our homes, I told my parents what had transpired and they...They did not take it well."

"That's weird." Roy commented, " We fight super-villains all the time. Hell, how you became Aqualad in the first place was helping Aquaman fight against Ocean Master.  They didn't seem to mind then."

"I know."  He curled up a little more and closed his eyes for now. " I don't know what's come over them. Father was very upset and wanted me to give up my position."  He paused at that and wondered at the heat in his eyes that watered.  Tears? Oh.  He's on land, that's why... "It would me I would give up everything I ever wanted."

He was more sadden than upset with his father right now. Going to the surface world- being hailed a hero by all- was the dream of so many Atlantean children, and even a few adults. Even the purists couldn't take that honor from him.  To being able to do good around the world with his king and to have friends on the surface too.  

His father had demanded he should give all that up.  But why? Why had he wanted that?  It didn't make sense to Kaldur at all what had happened or why his mother looked so torn.  She was the most proud of him out of anyone. She boasted regularly to all that'd listen about his accomplishments and being so honored to work with the King so closely and having been one of the Queen's favored pupils before that. 

It puzzled him endlessly. 

"Do you want to be Aqualad?" 

"Of course." There was no question in Kaldur's mind about that. Being Aqualad, even though there was a price to it, it was everything he'd wanted. 

"Then keep doing it." Roy turned over on his side, putting his back to him, "It's your life, Kal. I'm sure Aquaman'll support you if you wanted to keep doing it, regardless what your parents say."

"I would hope so." Kaldur stayed where he was for a while longer. The silence settled around them once more until he said, "Roy?"

"Yeah?" he sounded sleepy. 

"Thank you."

"Any time man."

 He'd later find out just why his parents were so riled up about his fight with Black Manta.

* * *

 

The next time Kaldur encounters softness, it's when he's undercover with Artemis and she's curled up next to him in bed.  She's cuddled close because they're playing the role of lovers for his biological father, Black Manta. She's the only thing keeping him sane in this mission he's already been at for months now.  In his own way, he's clinging to her to keep his sanity afloat. To keep himself from empathizing too much with his father.  The path there is slippery, indeed.  

With Artemis next to him, it's a different kind of softness. Yes, her curves are soft but she's still hard in some ways from training even in retirement.  But the softness there is different.  Platonic, but different all the same.  He's not sure what to call it, even after it's all over.

* * *

 

 

There's a certain softness he encountered later. Later when all accolades had been handed out, celebrations died and more work was to be done. It's the kind of softness he didn't realize was a thing. Or maybe he did but he never let himself drift into it too much or too long. Being undercover, then working so hard to become all that he had afterwards left little of the softness he'd had before.  Some days he barely recognized himself.  All hard planes.  He even kept his hair extremely short- prickles of hair that would've been soft if he had allowed it to grow into it's curlier coil forms. 

 But he can't.

He must be hard with only the barest amount of soft traces in his stance when he addresses others in an official way.  He only softens a little around his friends. He's learned to ask for at least moral support-even if he's still terrible at asking for actual help.  Still, for the most part he wears the hard shell everywhere. To them, he's unshakable. A solid leader and hero.  There is no place for softness here. 

It's storming when he arrived at Star City to an apartment complex hidden in the midst of tall buildings somewhere. It's an ordinary place.  Not run-down but not extravagant as one would've assumed for the person he's visiting.  It was just an ordinary place where he found the right door and knocked on it. 

It's late.  Nearly everyone should be in bed.  He knows the occupant in this unit had a forty percent chance of being asleep.  Nightmares could do that to a person.  So, he's unsurprised when he comes face to face with Roy Harper. Roy Harper, who he hasn't seen in almost six months.  He's lost some muscle definition but that never really mattered.  Kaldur knows that in a fight, Roy could still hold his own.  

He could feel Roy's eyes assessing him, even as he rubbed the back of his neck a little, feeling slightly sheepish but offered him a soft smile.  

"Is it still alright for me to visit?"

An easy smile slipped on Roy's face. "Get in here.  And don't track water everywhere. I just cleaned up."  He closed the door behind him. "You might want to forget about the shark." he said and then showed him to his room where he also was working on something that night, "Lian's claimed it as her own."

"That's fine." Kaldur shifted the duffel bag he had packed before heading there.  He doubted he'd fit any of Roy's things now.  They'd both grown taller but his shoulders had broaden a little more. He's not certain if he liked that or not. Though, it's only because he liked being able to wear Roy's shirts.  "She deserves to have a good friend with her."

Roy snorted at that, settled back at his work bench on the other side of the room, "If it wasn't as big as her and hard to walk with, she'd take it everywhere with her."

Kaldur only hummed in amusement at that before heading to the bathroom.  It's automatic, now.  Him and Roy- they do this. Rather, when Mt. Justice was still around, Roy would sometimes come and stay with him or vice versa at whatever crappy hideout Roy'd use that month.   This apartment, then, is like staying at the four seasons for him now.  

He crawled into bed, tired, and relishes the softness of the sheets, mattress, and pillows. It's still a king size, but it makes sleeping in it together a tangle of limbs because they've both grown so. Something Kaldur actually secretly loves.  When Roy finally flicks off the light and climbs into bed, they're entangled with each other.  It's odd, in a way, because being a hero almost always meant to be on 'the ready' for anything and sleeping like this wasn't ideal. 

It doesn't matter now.  The hard shell he's put on for so long softens in this place. He can just be gentle. There's nothing to protect from the hard harshness of the outside world right now.  Here, he can let that all go.  When Roy nuzzled his throat and laid a kiss on his collarbone, he kind of melts at the gentle touches and caresses he's given.  It's not always like this, but sometimes it happens. When their hands wander the other's body, unhurried at their pace. Lips meet, but it's not the biting hard rush of fevered longing before they'd part for another mission, but a coaxing thing that leaves soft moans and sighs behind.   An exploration of renewing familiarity between them.  The expression of a love unspoken but well understood. They hold onto each other as if the world could wait for them. It could wait, when his words slipped into his native tongue wanting Roy all that much more and receiving an answer when it all drowns him in pleasure and heat. 

The world could wait for them, as they breathe each other's breath, curled closer than before, enjoying the afterglow. It can wait for them to come from that high and murmur how much they missed the other and don't you dare get sappy on me, Kal from Roy.   It can wait for them to sleep.

When sleep finally takes Kaldur under, still wrapped around someone he truly loved, he had to agree with the Roy from the past that everyone does like soft things.

Especially him.


End file.
